El Proceso

Preparation Time: If your Chef has not selected a Cooking Team, it’s time to do so, and this is definitely a process that requires your full attention. In this Receta you need to really think things through before mixing the ingredientes.

Ingredients: Make sure you have the ingredientesnecesarios that will help you continue creating your station Guidelines of la Sabrosa SOPA. Each station has their own, and each Chef can adapt them. Remember that even though the Guidelines are not written in stone, they must be established and respected by each cooking team member. But the following information is the basic information the SOPA Guidelines must contain.

Cooking Method/Procedures: Any good receta tells you how or the process for putting the ingredients together. This is true for the Receta para Sabrosa SOPA. Each station must establish procedures that define how the operation will function and who will be in charge of which task. Everybody must understand that the SOPA is a fundraising effort for the station and the additional revenue is always more than welcome.

Areas to consider:

Chef: Who is your designated Chef in charge of the operation? Is it the General Manager, the Development Coordinator or someone from the development staff? Your Chef assumes full responsibility for overseeing the SOPA and makes sure that the SOPA has the ingredientes esenciales, is at the right temperature and is presented beautifully.

Copywriting: Who will write text/copy for the announcements or spots? This is an essential part of the procedures. This person will make sure the do’s of underwriting are in the sponsorship announcements and that the don’t’s are not.

Production and post-production of the spots: If you have decided to allow recorded spots, who will record it and how long will it take to do it? The person in charge of this task will give life to the sponsor copy; will record it, and add all the necessary ingredientes to have the right flavor. Sometimes, depending on the station’s schedule it can take up to two days to complete this task. So take this into consideration when having your conversations with your sponsors.

Traffic: Once the spot is either recorded or typed out, who will program it and make sure the DJ knows when to play or say it? This task should always be done by the same person so there is a pattern in the way of doing it and mistakes avoided. If by any chance any announcements are missed, you should have a “make good” option to replace the missed spots on a schedule that the sponsor agrees to.

If your station is a small one, maybe one person can be in charge of two tasks or it can be divided. The important thing is to define who does what by using position titles, not people’s names, when writing the stations SOPA procedures document. Remember people come and go or change positions. You want the document to prevail.

And don’t forget to participate in the NFCB listserv! Latino stations have access to the NFCB listserv because of a partnership between NFCB and LPRC. For information on accessing the listserv contact Ileana Rivera Santa.

Get Ready for the Next Steps: Start compiling your next ingredientes and doing the necessary research to have the adequate measures for your next Receta. You already mixed the do’s and don’ts of the SOPA with the procedures. It’s time to start thinking about the documents that needs to be in place in order for you to sell your SOPA. Next week we will help you create your “rate card”.